The goal of the proposed SUNY/NYU Behavioral Medicine and Sleep Disorders Training Institute is to develop and sustain a network of minority faculty committed to pursue careers in behavioral and sleep medicine targeted at cardiovascular (CV) risk reduction. The Institute will commence with an initial 2-week summer session, followed by on-going consultation with scholars and mentors, a mid-year meeting during the PRIDE academic year, and ending with a 1-week follow-up summer session. The initial 2-week didactic sessions will focus on methodology, biostatistics, ethical conduct in research, behavioral and sleep medicine topics, and intensive grant writing workshops. The 1-week follow-up session will provide scholars with opportunities for one-on-one interactions with NHLBI staff; participation in NIH Mock Study Section; and proposal critiques by peers. In partnership with distinguished scholars from SUNY Downstate Medical Center and NYU Langone Medical Center as well as NHLBI staff, we will implement and evaluate the Institute throughout the 4-year plan. Together with the Coordination Core, we will implement proven methods to evaluate the Institute and to track the progress of scholars for 5 years post program completion. The specific aims are: 1) To select qualified minority scientists with great potential to contribute to current knowledge of behavioral models utilized to reduce risk of CV-related diseases; 2) To increase minority scholars' knowledge, skills, and motivation to pursue an independent research program in behavioral medicine; 3) To mentor PRIDE scholars to facilitate their transition as independent researchers. Scholars will be paired with successful, nationally recognized senior investigators with expertise in individually proposed research projects to receive guidance; 4) To provide scholars with intensive individualized training and guidance in grant writing and to acquaint them with the NIH review process to enhance their capacity for successful funding competition at the national level. Scholars will participate in guided Mock Study Section and will engage in reviewing proposals of their peers using NIH review criteria; 5) To evaluate effectiveness of the Institute and ensure milestones are achieved. The Co-Directors will work directly with the Coordination Core to execute institute programmatic activities, implement program evaluation plan, monitoring mentees' progress during enrollment, and tracking mentees' academic achievements. Successful completion of this Institute will establish a network of 36 trained minority faculty applying proven behavioral CVD risk reduction models to eliminate health disparities. At the end of the Institute, we expect to have developed a replicable training and mentoring curriculum that can be applied in a variety of settings.